Whether it’s aspirin or shaving cream, HBC is a growing category that deserves a renewed focus. By Joe Bush, Contributing Editor. HBC is making a comeback from coast to coast. The category—from shampoos and skin creams to cough drops and cold remedies—has always had its rightful place in a convenience store—providing a grab-and-go remedy for

One unhappy shopping experience can influence the behavior of 16 customers. Can you afford to lose that business? By Jim Callahan. Great customer service is still and will always be the hallmark of any successful retail business. As convenience store operators we have high standards to compete with. For example, it is standard practice in

This will increase the value-added proposition of being an MPA/MACS member,” says MPA/MACS president. The Michigan Petroleum Association and Michigan Association of Convenience Stores (MPA/MACS) is endorsing Hudson Specialty Insurance Co. as the preferred insurer to provide underground storage tank pollution insurance to MPA/MACS members. Insurance can be obtained through the General Agency Company, based

Outstanding service, a sincere dedication to its team members and an ongoing commitment to convenience retailing earn the Louisville, Ky. chain the industry’s oldest and most prestigious award. By John Lofstock, Editor. The late Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., once said, “A lot of companies have chosen to downsize. We chose a different path.

U.S. retail and marketing continuing operations generated earnings of $88.0 million in the third quarter of 2011 compared to earnings of $59.0 million in the 2010 quarter. Murphy Oil Corp.’s net income in the third quarter of 2011 totaled $406.1 million ($2.09 per diluted share), which was double the net income of $202.8 million ($1.05 per diluted share) in

Douglas Yawberry has been promoted to vice president of operations at Weigel Stores Inc., a Knoxville Dairy and convenience store chain. In his new position, Yawberry is responsible for all store related operations, and will serve as a member of Weigel’s Corporate and Market Planning Group. Yawberry, a graduate of State Fair College Sedalia, Mo.,

A convenience store in Alabama is enticing customers with inexpensive dispensed steaks. Amir Sagani, manager at Odenville, Ala.-based Lil Mart said he jumped at the opportunity to add the “Smart Butcher,” the first meat dispensing vending machine in Alabama, to his store, CBS42 Online reported. The Smart Butcher arrived at Sagani’s store less than a

Kangaroo Express’ Roo mascot runs for office—awards fans with free coffee. The Roo, the voice and mascot of Kangaroo Express Convenience Stores, is running for mayor of Charleston and Charlotte, N.C. “The Roo believes every man, woman and child deserves a break in their day. A couple minutes to grab a tasty cup of coffee

Pride, tradition, exceptional service, an outstanding culture and dedicated employees. These are just some of the unique qualities found in the industry’s top convenience store chains. For the past 22 years, Convenience Store Decisions has had the honor of recognizing this excellence in retailing and this year we are proud to honor Thorntons Inc. as

InZone Brands, distributed in 87% of all national chain c-stores, makes 100% all-natural juice drinks for kids, offering three juice brands for three age groups: toddlers, preschoolers and gradeschoolers. TummyTicklerTots pre-diluted apple juice for toddlers comes in a four-ounce bottle, offers 40% less sugar than regular apple juice and is pre-mixed with purified water and

While cigar sales do not approach those of cigarettes, they offer convenience stores better margins. Plus, new flavors and competitive pricing are keeping customers interested in the category. By Joe Bush, Contributing Editor. Other tobacco products (OTP) in general and cigars in particular continue to earn more shelf space in convenience stores, and the higher

By John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. One often-overlooked strategy to generate ancillary foodservice revenues is developing a program to tap group sales. Generating revenue through large group order sales is an excellent way to exponentially grow your business. The sale from the initial large group order is the first source

Jeff Weghorst, director of merchandising at dunnhumbyUSA. One of the primary drivers behind a customer’s willingness to transact with a retailer is product selection. If a customer does not encounter an appealing assortment of products in-store, they are highly unlikely to engage even once with the retailer, and much less likely to become a loyal

As Marathon Petroleum cuts costs, fuel prices continue to climb, resulting in high Q3 profits. Marathon Petroleum Corp., which split from Marathon Oil Corp. earlier this year, reported soaring third quarter profits this week, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Earnings totaled $1.13 billion, or $3.16 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, more than

After its competitors dropped their planned fees, and faced with public backlash, BOA cuts plans for a new debit fee. Bank of America Corp. (BOA), which announced plans for a $5 monthly debit card fee in late September, has abandoned the idea following nationwide backlash from consumers and lawmakers, Bloomberg reported. The bank fee would

Starbucks vies for a larger share of the more than $3 billion dollar single-cup coffee category. Starbucks coffee K-Cup Portion Packs for the Keurig Single-Cup Brewing system hit store shelves this week at major food, drug, mass, club, specialty, and department store retailers throughout the U.S. Starbucks Corp. is the exclusive licensed super-premium coffee brand

New biscuits, battered sweet corn bites and cheeseburger bites greet hungry customers. Rutter’s has heightened its commitment to providing the widest selection of fast food in central Pennsylvania by adding three new menu choices, including biscuits. The biscuits to the menu, not only enhance Rutter’s breakfast selection by giving customers another choice for their breakfast

Kretek International Inc. offers a new line of CIG2O e-cigarette products. The CIG2O rechargeable water vapor cigarette was developed in the U.S. for Kretek by Spark Industries. CIG2O e-cigarettes were successfully launched in smoke shops early in 2010. The strength of adult consumer response led to the current nationwide roll out. The initial product line

Beer sales are hot right now and driving the push are specialty brews and imports. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor. Consumer interest in more flavorful food and beverages has led, among other things, to the rise of craft beers. Retailers: Start your engines. Craft beers offer more challenging tastes, authenticity and often even a quirkiness

After a grand opening celebration last week, the new location is now open around the clock. Maverik Convenience Stores, with 220 locations in seven Western states, debuted its newest location on Thursday, Oct. 27 in Pinetop-Lakeside, Ariz., marking its third location in the greater Eastern Arizona area, White Mountain Independent Online reported. The new store

PayNearMe allows customers to book bus trips online or with cash, a change that is especially advantageous to the un-banked and underbanked. 7-Eleven Inc. and Greyhound, the largest North American provider of intercity bus transportation, have partnered to allow customers nationwide to purchase bus tickets online or over the phone with cash, giving them access

Using store specific characteristics and actual/planned volume, retailers can produce budgets, forecasts etc., that are not impacted by inflation trends or legacy metrics. Three grocery retailers have recently selected Logile’s enterprise labor planning and execution management solutions. Two are utilizing Logile’s SaaS cloud hosting platform. The new Logile customers include two regional supermarket chains with

Visit the FedEx Facebook page today to get your free gift card. Starting Nov. 1, FedEx plans to distribute $1 million in gift cards to be used at small businesses on Small Business Saturday. The free gift cards – each worth $25 – will be distributed through www.facebook.com/FedEx starting at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday,

By John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. With any size retailer, getting customer trial at your store is the easy part. If the store owner throws out a compelling offer – perhaps a free deal – customers will come to your store to “check you out.” This is fairly straight forward,

Online Partners

Browse the latest issue of Convenience Store Decisions and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading C-Store magazine today.

Convenience Directions

The Convenience Directions concept has been in place for over 15 years in the convenience store industry. What we do is very unique in that
we combine the InfoMarketing newsletter, which is mailed quarterly to over 10,000 c-store executives, with three Idea Exchange meetings.

Print Subscription

NAG Convenience Conference

The National Advisory Group (NAG) is a dues paying association committed to building relationships and profits. NAG’s mission is to provide retail leaders of small to mid-size and family-owned convenience chains a peer-to-peer forum for the exchange of ideas to improve their business performance.